After dismissing Granit Xhaka and his Swiss squad from Euro 2024, Bukayo Saka delivered a sophisticated message to his former teammate at Arsenal.
After Breel Embolo’s first goal in the 75th minute, Saka quickly equalized and then scored in the penalty shootout, which was a key factor in England’s tight quarterfinal triumph.
Following Switzerland’s elimination and England’s advance to the semi-finals, Saka and Xhaka, former colleagues at Arsenal, were spotted cuddling up on the field.
When Saka was asked how it felt to bench Xhaka, who left Arsenal last summer and won the Bundesliga in his debut season at Bayer Leverkusen, he responded, “Granit has won enough trophies this season!”
“I believe he is an incredible player and human being—his humility in coming to greet us and shake hands after the game says it all.”
“Switzerland and him have my utmost respect and admiration—they truly gave us a game tonight.”
Saka, who missed from the spot during England’s devastating loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, stepped up in the penalty shootout.
In addition, he said, “I embrace the pressure of taking penalties.” Despite the fact that you only fail once, I’m the kind of man that wants to try again.
I scored my penalty and maintained my composure despite the apprehensive looks from many, including my family.
Saka was called “so brave” by England manager Gareth Southgate for accepting a penalty. The performance was the greatest Southgate has seen, saying, “I thought the players were brilliant.”
“It’s not just about playing well—we had to come back and show character and resilience.”
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‘It was so brave from Bukayo, he is one of our best and we were never in question he would take one. But we all knew what he went through.
‘Huge performance, huge result and we are still in it. We had to be tactically spot on. We are in a third semi-final and it says a lot about the whole group. I thought we had good control.’
England captain Harry Kane, meanwhile, praised his teammates for getting the job down after he was subbed off before the shootout.
‘That’s tournament football for you,’ the struggling striker said. ‘You have to find a way.
‘When you look at past champions in competitions, they have to go through penalty shootouts. It comes down to moments.
‘For Saka to step up and score that goal was special for him. I was weirdly calm during penalties. We have a lot more players that take them for their club. I know they are comfortable and know Pickford normally saves one.
‘I think penalty shootouts are the highest pressure you will feel as a professional footballer. But for him [Saka] to step up like he did after the tough time he had been through… I am really proud of him and proud of everyone.
‘There is one week left. We will see how far we can go.’